Tech Check Colour temperature
Master this concept to control the overall tint of your shot
What is colour temperature? Different light sources produce a variety of colours – which we’re only partially aware of, because our eyes naturally adjust to them. If you compare the colour of a burning candle with normal daylight, for example, each has its own temperature, measured in Kelvins. How does this make any difference to my photography? Unlike the human eye, a digital camera isn’t as adept at adjusting to different colour temperatures, so colour casts can make your shot look wrong if you don’t deal with it. What can I do to sort this out? This is where White Balance comes into its own. Your camera comes with a series of different presets, designed to ensure that your shots avoid ugly colour casts. The most likely time you’ll suffer from these is while shooting indoors under different artificial light sources. Set an appropriate white balance for the main lighting, and your shots will look more natural. How do I know which WB to set? You can try to match the WB name to the scenario, so for shooting under fluorescent lights, your camera will give you a Fluorescent WB setting. You could also use the camera’s Auto WB setting, where it judges the lighting for you and sets the most appropriate temperature. Alternatively, use your eye to judge by flicking through the WB settings. Is there one White Balance setting that works more consistently than the others? In most outdoor shooting scenarios, setting Daylight WB will give you the most accurate result. Of course, if you shoot raw, the colour temperature isn’t fixed anyway, and you can tweak it however you want in post-processing. In truth, there is no such thing as the ‘right’ white balance: for creative reasons you may want an image to be cooler or warmer anyway.